Moluccas Places

Morotai A minor Japanese base during WWII, Morotai leapt to prominence when it was captured by the Allies and used to bomb Manila to bits. That was the sadly destructive fulfilment of General MacArthur’s ‘I will return’ pledge to retake the Philippines. Among the Japanese defenders who retreated to Morotai’s[…]

Halmahera, Tidor, Soasio Above the southernmost edge of Tidore’s capital, Soasio, lies the sparse, overgrown remnants of Benteng Tohula, Tidore’s 17th-century Spanish fort. This is exactly what you want from a ruin – overgrown, crumbling fortress walls and spectacular views of Halmahera and Soasio. You’ll have to navigate the reasonably[…]

Seram Some Malukans call Seram ‘Nusa Ina’ (Mother Island), believing that all life sprang from ‘Nunusaku’, a mythical peak ambiguously located in the island’s western mountains. The best known of Seram’s indigenous minority tribes, the Nua-ulu (‘upper-river’) or Alifuro people, sport red-bandana headgear and were headhunters as recently as the[…]

Tobelo Humble Tobelo is northern Halmahera’s only real ‘town’. Its bay is fronted by a pretty jigsaw of islands, many ringed with golden sandy beaches, though they feel a world apart from this otherwise grotty little backwater. The most accessible isle is Pulau Kakara, where there is now a government-run[…]

Seram, Masohi, Namano & Amahai Neat, if slightly dull, Masohi is the spacious purpose-built capital of central Maluku, a short jaunt from the Amahai harbour. It’s only really useful to travellers as a transport interchange. The main street, Jl Soulissa, heads southwest from the terminal, market and Masohi Plaza shopping[…]

Sofifi For most travellers this market village is just a connection point on the Tobelo–Ternate journey. However, Sofifi is now officially the capital of North Maluku (Malut) province. Numerous government departments have relocated to Sofifi – a rather grand and hilly perch over the pristine mangroves (no plastic in sight)[…]

Saparua A sprinkling of offbeat accommodation can be found amid Saparua’s shaggy forests and friendly villages. Here, spiny, football-sized durian are piled in the streets right in front of concrete homes brushed in soft pastels. And crystal-clear waters lap or crash the shore depending upon the season. Dugongs reportedly appear[…]

Halmahera Maluku’s biggest island is eccentrically shaped, like a starfish, with four mountainous peninsulas, several volcanic cones and dozens of offshore islands. As it’s sparsely populated and hard to get around, the island’s potential for diving, birdwatching and beach tourism remains almost entirely untapped. In the riverine interior, the nomadic,[…]

Kei, Ohoidertawun The charming village of Ohoidertawun surveys a lovely bay that becomes a vast, white-sand flat at low tide when craftsmen sit in the palm shade carving out canoes. An elfin church and pyramidal mosque coexist harmoniously. A ‘holy tree’ on the waterfront beside Savana Cottages is believed to[…]

Kei, Pasir Panjang The Kei Islands’ most famous tourist draw is Pasir Panjang, 3km of white sand so powdery it feels like flour, fringed with swaying coconut palms. And despite the brochure-cover beauty, the beach is almost entirely deserted – except at weekends when a couple of karaoke outfits crank[…]